Saturday, December 28, 2013

We hope everyone has had a fantastic Christmas and holidays and that you are ready for the New Year and 2014. It is coming, ready or not! Just want you to know I will be away for a few days starting tomorrow but hope to return the end of this week to start the new year right with regular blogs once again!

Another biggie will be if Auburn can win the National Championship on January 6th against a very formidable opponent, Florida State University. Regardless of the outcome, it is amazing that Auburn is in the BCS title bowl game.

2014 will also begin the sesquicentennial of the fourth year of the War Between the States. Things are beginning to unravel rather quickly for the South. We will recount those battles right here so stay tuned.

We will also report on upcoming activities at the First White House of the Confederacy. There will be busy days ahead! I will take up where I leave off in a few days. Please stay with me.

Friday, December 13, 2013

The First White House of the Confederacy is pleased to announce an upcoming book signing by historian and author David P. Bridges, historian and professor at the university of Richmond in Virginia..

This will be Thursday, January 16, 4:00 - 6:00 pm when David will discuss "What makes an Alabama hero today vs. during the Civil War?"

David's book is "The Broken Circle" and is a dramatic historical novel about his great, great uncle Dr. James Breathed, a Maryland doctor who chose to fight with the Confederate Army to preserves the Southern way of life.

Alabama's hero, General John Pelham, who is in the Alabama Hall of Fame, was Dr. Breathed's commander and best friend. Please come to the book signing if you are in the vicinity, and if not, order the book on Amazon.com.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Reading through an album of our trip to Virginia Battlefields a photo of a very imposing statue caught my eye. It is called "Virginia Mourning Her Dead" and stands on the campus of Virginia Military Institute The sculpture was done by Moses Ezekiel, a graduate of the Institute, who later became a world renown sculptor, and who donated the statue to the school.

You may remember the story: in 1864, a Union army under Franz Sigel moved through the Shenandoah Valley intending to capture Lynchburg, an important supply hub. Confederate Commander John C. Breckinridge assembled a makeshift army to stop Sigel. Desperately needing more men, Breckinridge contacted VMI Superintendent Francis H. Smith, asking to have the VMI cadet corps join him as a reserve troop.

The 258 cadets, including Ezekiel practically ran the 81 miles to join Breckinridge near the town of New Market. During the battle, when Breckinridge's line wavered, the Confederate commander in desperation ordered the cadets to join the fight, saying "Put the boys in, and may God forgive me."

When the battle was over the Confederates had won, but at the cost of 10 cadets dead or mortally wounded, and 47 others wounded. Among the mortally wounded was Ezekiel's roommate, who died two days later in Ezekiel's arms. Moses Ezekiel never forgot that frightful experience.

And this may be of special interest to you: The Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery was also done by Moses Ezekiel. Carved around the base of this Memorial are these words from the book of Isaiah in the Holy Bible, "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks."